Eight Geeky Photographers In Movies

The other day, while re-watching the awful, but wildly entertaining The Faculty, I noticed something: geeky characters love photography. Peter Parker is not the only nerdy high schooler who likes to snap, snap, snap. There are loads of other characters, in movies, that are just as geeky and photo-obsessed as him.

There are a bunch of movies out there about famous photographers, but the ones on this list aren’t hip like Thomas, a.k.a. David Bailey in Blow Up. They’re straight up outcasts, nerds and geeks who love to take pictures of random things. Here are eight geeky movie characters who shoot.

Lydia – Beetlejuice

While the adults in her life were busy dancing the Banana Boat Song, Lydia was developing her many artistic talents, including photography. This is Winona Ryder in one of her absolute best roles.

Thomas – Remember the Daze

Remember The Daze is one of those teen movies like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Dazed and Confused and The Myth of the American Sleepover. It’s just a bunch of sexed-up teens running around basically. But in the midst of that there’s Thomas, a quiet and shy photographer kid who likes to “capture the moment”. He’s definitely one of the more interesting characters in the movie (if not the most).

Sarah – I Am Number Four

Alright so Sarah isn’t all that geeky, but hear me out. She went from the top of the high school pyramid to the gritty bottom for her love of photography. She chose to quit cheering for her bully boyfriend and got alienated (pun!) by all of her friends. Once she picked up the camera, she was no longer Ms. Popular.

Casey Connor – The Faculty

First of all, can you believe that Elijah Wood was in this movie? The Faculty is oozing with talented kids. Anyway, Frodo plays a nerdy photographer kid who gets picked on by the jocks at his high school. They all make fun of him for various reasons, but in the end, the joke is on them.

Peter Parker – Spider-man

Peter Parker is the king of this list. He’s probably the inspiration behind all of these other characters. Heck, he probably started the trend.

Ricky Fitts – American Beauty

Ricky Fitts isn’t a photographer, but he does take some very creepy videos of dancing bags. He’s got a hard exterior, but he’s totally unpopular, especially with Jane’s best friend Angela.

Chris – Metroland

In Metroland, Christian Bale plays a would-be artist who settles down before anything exciting really happens to him. He’s never been cool like his best friend Toni. But he loves to take photos. He’s got a burning desire to be a photographer.

Pecker – Pecker

Pecker is a nerdy teenage photographer who got his nickname by picking his food as a little kid. He’s happy taking pictures, and is completely oblivious to Christina Ricci’s cruelness.

About The Author

Laura Frances

The artsy amateur photographer trope is so overused, it has started to make me laugh when I see it in movies and on TV. For every one time where it is a crucial part of the story, there seem to be 100 where it’s just lazy.

“We need to tell the audience this character is deep and artistic instead of just boring, geeky and seemingly out of place.”
“Just put a camera in his hands like we always do.”